


The Flare of Her Wings

by owlmothfuneral



Category: Just Shapes & Beats (Video Game)
Genre: Fan Characters, Hospitals, Modern AU, Platonic Affection, Swearing, non-binary characters, tags to be added as this goes on, this is highly self-indulgent
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-07-26
Updated: 2021-01-15
Packaged: 2021-03-05 23:28:24
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 6,900
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25523620
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/owlmothfuneral/pseuds/owlmothfuneral
Summary: It's been a few years.
Comments: 5
Kudos: 18





	1. Slow Morning

**Author's Note:**

> Cube is named Neko in this because I Can and it's more distinct than calling them a shape

It was as bright as a cloudy day could get. Neko adjusted the bag they hung around their shoulder as they carried themself along the sidewalk. The quiet day provided room for the wind rustling the trees, the smell of rain flooding their - _metaphorical_ \- nostrils.

They turned to walk up the steps of a light blue house, pressing the doorbell. They took note of the toy airplane hanging from the porch light as they were waiting.

There were a couple clicks and rattles before Neko was assaulted by the arms of their friend, and they let out a yelp.

“Sorry, was that too sudden?”

“No, no, it’s fine,” Neko said, giving their friend a tight squeeze and a few pats on the back. Heli gave them a casual peck on the cheek (with their lack of a mouth), separating from the hug.

“Oooh, neat sweater!”

Neko blushed, rubbing the back of their neck. “Haha, thanks. I just finished it last night.”

“You _made_ that?!” Heli asked while locking the door to their house. “You’ve gotta make a patch for my vest. How much?”

“Oh, Heli…”

“I’m serious! Your work’s fantastic.”

“Well, we can talk about that later. We’re gonna be later if we don’t hurry.”

“Yeah, yeah, I know.” Heli flipped to their car keys, jumping off the walkway and slipping into their car. Neko hopped in on the other side, shutting the door with a slam.

"Jeez, how old is your car again?"

"About 40 years."

"I'm surprised it's still running. I bet you had to do a lot of work on it."

They pulled out of the driveway and onto the road towards their destination. "Loads. It was cheaper than buying a new one, though."

Trees and buildings whizzed past the windows, enticing Neko for another session of spacing out. They bunched up some of the fabric of their sweater in their hand, using the other to run over the single gear embroidered in the middle. _Damnit! That's what they were forgetting - something to fiddle with!_ Oh well, there's next time.

Neko started recognizing the streets and realized they were already near the theatre. The car pulled into the parking lot, the rumbling engine turning off. Neko hopped out of the truck and closed the door.

"Hey, who's that?" Heli asked, pointing to a shape standing in front of the theatre.

"I think they're the person controlling the stage lights?"

"What are they doing out here then? The lights are inside."

The shape snapped their head up to look at the two and waved. "Yer late!"

"Sorry!" Neko looked both ways before speedwalking across with their friend in tow. The other shape got up from leaning on the pillar. Neko noticed their... pirate aesthetic. And how this person was tall, which was a bit intimidating when you were as small as someone like Neko. And- _were they carrying a freaking sword?_

"Aren't you supposed to be inside?"

"Ah, guess ye haven't heard. I'm the pirate captain now! Was waiting for ye."

"That explains the eyepatch," Heli said, holding open the front door.

"Oh, no, this thing's on all the time," they said, nodding to Heli as they went inside, "I don't have an eye."

Heli gasped. "No way."

"Wanna see it?" They asked menacingly, arms behind their back.

"No!!!" Heli ran ahead, away from the pirate.

"Heh, scares em' off every time." The shape chuckled to themself. "By the way, we never properly talked. I never caught your real name."

"Oh! It's Neko."

"Nice. I'm Pira. Boat on-stage."

"Neko! Come quick!" Yelled someone from backstage. The two glanced at each other before rushing into the room, simultaneously yelling a concerned "what?!"

Heli turned around holding... a bird. "Look at the poor thing! It's probably hurt and scared."

Neko sighed, relaxing their shoulders. "Heli, you scared the crap out of me." They inched closer to get a better look at the small creature. Its wing was injured and it was shivering.

"Do you know how to take care of birds?"

"I did once with Cyan. We need a towel."

Heli went silent. Neko looked up, tilting their head.

"Oh, it's nothing. We have mini-towels in the cafeteria."

Neko turned to get one and was stopped by Pira standing in front of them, holding out a towel. "Got it for ye."

Neko took the towel with a soft “thanks” and gently took the bird, wrapping it in the soft cloth.

"Heli, go wash your hands.”

“Not a problem,” they said, turning around with their hands up and walking into the restroom.

Neko stared at the creature in their hands. It stared back, its beady eyes shifting with its twitching head. _Oh, to be so small and considered unimportant…_ Neko sighed. They looked around the room, spotting a couple of boxes of various sizes. Grabbing one and setting it up with their other hand as they kneeled, they set the bird down in the box.

“How did a bird get in here anyway?”

“Well… the roof is open,” said Pira, pointing in the direction of the stage. Rays of light shone on the floor in the room. Yeah, that’s probably what happened.

Neko got up with the small box in their hands, sighing with relief. Heli skipped in, slipping on their fingerless gloves under… wet sleeves.

“Heli, you’re supposed to push up your sleeves when you wash your hands.”

“I didn’t feel like having to fix them after!”

Oh, right. Heli wore a white, baggy shirt that was held down at the ends by these… rubber bands? Sort-of? _What were they?_ They were apparently annoying to fix after washing your hands.

Oh- Neko never really took a proper look at everyone’s outfits. 

Heli’s favorite, blue vest was buttoned over their shirt, and they had a pair of goggles and a scarf wrapped around their non-existent neck. Their loose pants stretched over their boots.

Pira wore a swallow-tailed coat over a collared shirt, their pants held up by a belt with a gold buckle. Their boots’ cuffs were folded over and parted over the laces. And of course _, they had a freaking sword._

“Hey,” Pira asked, “where’s Ember? We need em’ if we wanna get anything done.”

“Right here!”

The three only had milliseconds to react before an orange shape jumped down in the middle of them, startling them all with a “yip!"

“Have technical difficulties ceased? It’s long past rehearsal time, you know!”

“How… long were you up there?” Neko asked, looking up at the nook in the ceiling that Ember probably leaped from.

“An hour! It’s all worth it for the dramatic entrance.”

“You _are_ way too suited for this position,” Heli said. “But shouldn’t we call a vet or something? For the bird?”

“I think we should wait until it calms down a bit before we see if it needs professional help. We can fit in a scene or two until then, right?”

Heli stretched their arms out. “Which part are we on again? I forgot.”

“We’re having Pira sit out and watch since so many of the others in their scenes couldn’t make it today.” Ember walked towards the stage, mumbling something under their breath as their cape flowed dramatically behind them. “Starting from scene 7!" They clapped.

Scene 7 was where Heli crashed a plane.


	2. Beady Eyes and Something Strange

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i just grabbed the characters and ran away from whatever canon there was left. enjoy

Neko woke to the sound of shuffling. They groaned, rolling over to grab their phone and press the button. The light blinded them for a few moments before they were able to see the time; 3:19 AM. They shut off their phone and set it aside, rubbing their head. Their body probably just wanted them to go to the bathroom or something. They forced their legs to the side, pushing themself out of bed, and stood up. 

The shuffling they heard was coming from the box. They decided they’d take the bird home because it wasn’t serious enough for professionals to have to deal with it. _What was the bird doing in there?_

Neko pushed the lid open to get a pair of eyes staring right back at them. The bird tilted its head, flapping its-

**_Its wings were healed?_ **

Neko turned on the lamp beside their bed, looking at the bird in the light. Their eyes were blurry from just waking up, but- the bird was flapping its wings. Neko grabbed one of the latex gloves from the box they bought, slipping it on their hand to gently grab the bird’s wing. It was fine. The bird’s wing was _fine_ _._ Using their other hand they rubbed their eyes, trying to force their vision to come back. They’re not supposed to heal this quickly- what the hell? They weren’t just seeing things, right?

Should they let it out? It looks like it wants to fly… But it’s night, they can’t - what if it isn’t fully healed? Neko thought for a second. They don’t know much about birds, it was risky to let it out when they’re not even sure it’s okay to go yet. But if it tried to fly in the house… It could also hurt itself. Maybe if they gave it a secure place to fly? But they didn’t have a place for that.

They sat down. _“It’s a wild animal,”_ they thought, _“of course it could fly in the dark. I should just wait until I can see until I check its wing again…”_

Neko sighed, pulling out their phone to see if Heli was still awake (because, for some unholy reason, they stay up way too late). Their eyes unblurred enough for them to barely read, and, without a doubt- there was an “online” next to Heli’s username.

_Chat started at 3:24 AM_

**Nyanrazor** : Hey question are wounds supposed to heal overnight?

 **Factorypilot** : im pretty sure not? unless maybe if its rlly small or something. like a papercut

 **Factorypilot** : wait

 **Factorypilot** : why are you asking this and why are you up this early

 **Nyanrazor** : I think I’m crazy or something, I checked on the bird and its wing looks fully healed

 **Factorypilot** : wait really

 **Factorypilot** : send a pic i wanna see

Neko got up, hovering over the box. The beady eyes of the animal returned the look at the camera pointed at it.

_Nyanrazor sent an image._

**Factorypilot** : wtf it looked a lot more messed up like 10 hours ago

 **Nyanrazor** : Exactly!! Should I let it out? I don’t want it flying around the house and we don’t have a cage sitting around. It looks like it really wants to fly

 **Factorypilot** : yeah i think that’d be a good idea

 **Factorypilot** : actually wait

 **Factorypilot** : would it be able to get home in the dark the theatres kinda far away

_Oh._

**Factorypilot** : i can drive you to the theatre if you need it im bored out of my mind cause everyones asleep

 **Nyanrazor** : I guess that’d be good, we don’t know anything about birds so this is probably the least harmful route

 **Nyanrazor** : I think

 **Nyanrazor** : You sure it's okay to drive me?

 **Factorypilot** : ofc!!. im just hoping a bird expert isnt lookin at us going “what are they DOING you dont DO THAT!!”

 **Factorypilot** : anyways ill be there in like 8 minutes lol, cya

 **Nyanrazor** : Haha yeah. See you, thanks!

Neko flopped back on their bed, yawning. They were already getting tired. _How in the world does Heli do it?_

They mentally tacked off what they were gonna need. The box with the bird, the box of gloves… what else? Shoes. Definitely need shoes. It’s cold outside so they need their jacket. They heaved themself upwards and got off the bed, slipping on their fabric gloves and before-mentioned leather jacket. And- where in the world did they throw their shoes this time?

… Neko really wished they were more organized.

In a few minutes they were ready, gently grabbing the bird box and making sure it was okay. Neko’s phone buzzed. They didn’t need to check to know what it was, and they went downstairs and out the door. Heli’s old truck was whirring in the road, their hand sticking out its window for a wave.

Neko locked the front door behind them, running to the truck and sliding in effortlessly. 

“Morning.”

“Good _night_ ,” Neko said, glaring at Heli.

“Lemme see the bird.” Heli leaned over the box, picking at the flaps to shed a little light onto the creature inside. “Woah, you weren’t kidding. That’s weird.” Heli returned their hands to the wheel, stepping on the gas.

The lights of other late-night cars buzzed past as they went on their 20-minute drive to the theatre. 

“Hey Heli?”

“Yeah?”

“I think we should have a sleepover sometime again. Play a game or something. I really miss that stuff.”

“...Me too.”

Something about this whole situation felt so… nostalgic. Obviously something was missing, though. They didn’t want to think about it. Neither of them did.

Neko checked in on the box on their lap. As expected, two beady eyes glowed back at them in the passing street lights. The bird was waddling around, thankfully not trying to take off in the car.

Maybe they should have just wrapped the little thing in cloth and called it a night, _would that have worked?_ But, it was too late now, and despite being tired… this was nice. It felt like getting to see a glimpse into another world, the one Heli always gets to see. It’s been, what, three years since they went outside this late?

Maybe they were missing out.

“Hey, full moon tonight.”

“Huh?” Neko peeked out the windshield. The moon was bright, even through the trees. “Oh, wow…”

“Full moons, birds healing in half a day… Next thing we know we’re gonna be caught up in supernatural junk.”

“Don’t jinx it, please.”

Heli cackled. “Let it come! Life’s so boring!”

“Noooo!!!!”

“O sun, bless me with something exciting for once in my life! An adventure across the world!”

 _That was one of Heli's lines in the play._ “Your wishes will fall on deaf ears, you idiot! Now keep your eyes on the road!”

“Bastard,” Heli mumbled.

Stoplights started popping up in the midst of Neko’s daydreaming, signaling that they were off the freeways. Within three minutes they pulled into the parking lot in front of the theatre. They hopped out, Heli shutting their door.

“You ready?” Heli asked.

“Yep.” Neko set the box down on the asphalt, digging out a pair of latex gloves from their bag and slipping it over their hands. They opened the box all the way, scooping the bird into their hands. This bird was way too hyper for night… it took off immediately as if it sensed it was able to go.

“Woah, that was fast.”

“Huh… yeah. I expected something dramatic.” 

“You look really tired.”

“Ugh, yeah… I’m gonna collapse in bed asap,” Neko mumbled, setting the gloves on Heli’s dashboard. “Hey, what if we had that sleepover tonight? You’re not busy, right?”

“Ooohh, yeah! Mom’s been telling me to go out of the house. I can just text her real quick and drop by, she stays awake as long as I do- Ack!” Heli suddenly dropped to their knees. Neko’s parent instinct kicked in and they dropped down, holding Heli’s shoulders.

“Heli!”

Heli mumbled something incoherent, all Neko could make out was “ringing”. Maybe they had a sudden migraine-

They felt like they had a fever and went deaf at the same time. They could hear someone shouting, they didn’t know when-

And they realized Heli was _really_ strong to be able to even mumble before passing out.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> blease give feedback if youd like im insecure


	3. The Salary of a Chemist

_ Since when was there this much light in here? _

“Hey, you waking up?”

_ Give me like, five more minutes dude… _

“Half-asleep. Got it.”

_ Why are you... doing that funny voice, Nova? _

“Dunno who that is,” they sighed. “Hell, they could have assigned me literally anyone else…”

Neko groaned, stretching in their sheets-

Wait. Sheets?

“Wh-” they jolted up, realizing that they were not in their house, or their bed. The bright white of the interior blinded them. “What the hell?!”

“Up now? Can we get this over with?”

They whipped their head around to see a taller pink shape, wearing what looked like a paramedic uniform. They held a tablet in their hands, an unamused expression shown through a single eye-

“Blixer?! What the- why the fuck are you-”

Blixer raised his free hand to silence them. “ _ Listen . _ I’m just as confused as you are, but we need to talk about this later when I’m off. I gotta get back out there ASAP, things are serious as shit right now.”

Neko felt more angry than confused, looking him straight in the eye with a look that would kill if it wasn't from them. They shook their head and sighed. “Fine, asshole. What is it?”

“You don’t have an ID here, so I have to get your info so they can look you up. Except they aren’t gonna find shit,” he mumbled under his breath, “I need your picture too, straighten your shoulders.” He snapped a picture with the tablet as Neko tried to look “normal”, continuing speedily. “Name?”

“Neko Pulse.”

“Pulse?- Nevermind. Type?”

“Cube, blue.”

“Gender and pronouns?”

“Not specified, they/them.”

“It’s okay, I know it’s nyanbinary.”

“Oh shut up, it was a joke.”

“That’s what they all say. Last one… how are you feeling? Did anything happen before you came in?”

“Confused.”

Blixer looked up from the tablet. “Do you remember anything before you passed out?”

“Uh… yeah. I was releasing a bird in the parking lot with Heli-- shit, I shouldn’t have let it out at night, what was I thinking?”

“Uh-huh.” He wrote it all down, tore off a page from a pad on the back of the tablet to scribble something down, and grabbed something out of his pocket, handing them both to Neko.

“Tell them you live there, it’s my house. I’ll explain everything I can. And feed my cat for me, please. I’m gonna be late.”

“But wait, where’s Heli?”

“Dunno, ask the front desk! You’re excused from the room!” he said, closing the door behind him.

They took a moment to process what just happened.  _What did he mean by “you don’t have an ID here”? And… they’re excused already? What about all the other stuff they need to check up on?_

There was some shouting, and a bed wheeled past the door of their room. And then a second. They got up, stretching. They looked at what Blixer gave them, a slip of paper with an address written on it and a key. The first thing that caught their eye was the city.

_ “1249 Sunburn Avenue   
Paradise, Ocean District _

_ Tell the check-out your name is Sierre Flower” _

Where was the zip code? Paradise? District? Were they even in their own country?

They were gonna get a headache thinking about it. Blixer better live up to what he said. They pushed open the door, looking both ways through the busy hallways before shutting it. Neko looked for any signs that could point them to-

“Ack-!”

They turned around to see who bumped into them.

“Ah, sorry, do ya know where… oh hey, you’re here too!”

Neko stared blankly at the taller shape, before gasping. “Pira? What the hecks going on?”

“Dunno, nurse did a quick check and ran off. Doesn’t look like any hospital I’ve ever been in.”

“Do you know where the front desk is?”

“Just as clueless as you are.”

“Yo,” they both looked to the other side of the hall to one of the staff. “Front desk is that way,” they said, pointing behind themself as they wheeled away with supplies. Neko and Pira exchanged glances, then speedwalking down the hall until they finally got to the front of the building. Neko slipped into the line for the line labeled “check-out” as fast as they could, Pira standing next to them.

“Paradise Central Hospital, eh? Where are we, really?” Pira said, looking at a large sign. Neko grimaced.

“I have no idea where or what’s happening, this feels like one of those weird dreams.”

“I hear ya.”

Neko looked back at the paper Blixer gave them. Sierre Flower…?

Oh. They weren’t going to like this. 

The two made it to the front desk, the clerk typing in something before looking up at them. “Name?”

Neko sighed. “Sierre Flower.”

Pira gave them a questioning glance as the clerk typed in more words.

“Make sure to update your profile, Miss Flower. You and your parent can leave.”

“Parent?” Pira scoffed.

“Oh, actually- do you know where my friend Heli is?”

“Do you know their Paradise ID?”

“Um… no?”

“Can’t tell you, then. The crisis has us strained, or we'd do more.”

They groaned. “Thanks anyway.” The two walked to the front doors, which were bustling with activity.

“This hospital is weird.”

“Yeah. Operates like nothing I’ve ever seen before,” Pira said, holding open the door for someone else before they both left the building. Cold, moist air hit Neko's face.  


“I really hope Heli is here.”

“Me too, lass.”

Shouting caught Neko’s attention, and before they could respond they were tackled.

“Neko, where are we?! I wanna get out of here!”

“Heli? I- you- you know what, nevermind. How’d you get out?”

Heli separated from the attack-hug, putting their hands on their hips and smiling. “I have no idea!”

“Well, great. Any idea how we can get here?” Neko said, pointing to the address on the paper.

“Actually, they called a taxi for me before I left. I think they thought I was someone else.”

“How amazingly convenient.”

“I exist purely from luck,” Heli said proudly. “What’s the address for?”

Neko winced. “Uh… I’ll tell you when we get there. It’s something I’d rather tell in private.”

The three stood under the hospital. The rain was pouring down hard, the streets filled with cars and too many sounds. From far away Neko could hear sirens.

“So… any guesses where we’re at?” Pira said.

“Definitely not home. It never rains this hard in the fall,” Heli said, crossing their arms.

Neko leaned against the wall. “I have a headache.”

“Same, dude.”

They slunk down to the ground, sitting. “When’s the taxi getting here?”

Heli put their hand over their eyes, squinting at the roads filled with cars. “Judging by traffic, it’s probably gonna take a while.”

“What are we gonna do until then?”

“I’ve got a question,” Pira said, leaning next to them. “Why’d you give the check-out that name?”

“I was told to.”

“By who?”

“... Same person who gave me the address.”

“This feels really weird, Neko,” Heli said, “are you sure this isn’t a death trap?”

“Trust me, it... probably isn’t bad. Like I said, I’ll explain when we get there.”

Some time passed while the three made small talk. At some point, the conversation somehow turned into an argument about a chemist’s salary.

“ _ Listen , _ if you’re making literal scientific discoveries with that, there’s just no way you’d be making less than 1-”

_ Honk! _

The three whipped their heads 

“Oh hey, that’s our ride!” Heli said. They all rushed over and got inside the yellow car.

“Where are you headed?” the driver said. Heli nudged Neko, who gave the address paper to the driver after folding the other half.

“Ocean district? Thank goodness. Streets are clearer than glass there.”

“Why’s there so much traffic?”

“You didn’t hear? We had a false tornado warning earlier. While everyone was inside the tree started spitting a bunch of things out!”

“Tree?”

The driver scoffed, turning into the traffic. “Jeez, did you just come out of it too?”

The whole car was silent before the driver continued. “That was a joke, of course.”

“Oh, haha, we know,” Heli said.

The drive was silent, save for all of the outside commotion. As the traffic loosened, Neko spotted broken and burnt buildings covered by sand as they neared the beach. The car eventually pulled into a mostly in-tact neighborhood, stopping in front of a house.

“Alright, we’re here.”

The three thanked the shape as they all slid out the door, running under the shelter of the house. Neko pulled out the key from their pocket, turning it as the other two waved the driver goodbye. The lock clicked, and they turned the knob and stormed inside. 

“Finally, that’s over. Now, who’s place is this?!” Heli said, kicking the door shut.

“Are you sure you’re ready to hear it?”

“After hearing the possibility that I got spat out of a tree today, yes.”

They sighed. “Blixer’s.”

Heli’s posture drooped. “Nevermind.”

“I hope you don’t mind me asking, but who’s Blixer?”

Neko’s ears flattened against their head as they looked at Pira. “He’s… an ex-friend of mine. Something  _ bad _ happened a few years ago and… I still hate him for it.”

“Why’re we here if ya hate him then?”

“Honestly? He’s probably the only person in this place that knows what’s going on, because I have never heard of or seen this city in my entire life. I had no idea he even moved out of our town.”

“I hope I scared him off,” Heli said. “Wait… so why’d you meet him in the hospital?”

“From what I gathered he was assigned to watch over me until I woke up.”

“He  _ works  _ there?!”

“His uniform said he was a part of the emergency medical services team, so, yeah.”

“Ugh. When’s he coming home, anyways?”

“Probably a while. He wanted me to feed his cat?”

Heli blinked. “He- he has a cat?”

“I guess?”

Heli ran off to one of the hallways. “Looking for it now!”

“I’ll just ah…” Pira scratched their head, “...look around. If we’re staying here we might as well get comfortable, yeah?”

They looked down, crossing their arms. “I guess so. I’ll look for cat food, I guess.” Neko walked into the kitchen, scanning their surroundings. To the left was the fridge and cupboards and behind them was what they assumed was the pantry. The counter curved around the area, and they could see Pira looking at a shelf filled with DVD cases in the living room.

Neko opened the pantry. No cat food there. They started looking through the bottom cupboards. Nothing. They looked in the upper ones, before finding one filled with spices on one side and- canned cat food on the other. They grabbed one, popping open the lid.

“Hey, get back here!”

A cat ran into the kitchen, rubbing against Neko’s leg.

“Geez, I should’ve thought about that.”

“My roommate and I found his old cat this way,” Neko said as they kneeled to pat out the food into the bowl, “it managed to run out, and he grabbed one of the cans and opened it in the park. Little thing ran out from the trees screaming.”

The cat didn’t wait and shoved its face into the bowl, eating immediately. Heli leaned over, squinting. “They always act like they’re starving, huh?”

Neko caught a glimpse of the collar tag, grabbing it and turning the collar so they could read it.

“Heli, his name is Mr. Onion.”

Heli snorted. “Mr. Onion? Looks like a toasted marshmallow to me.” 

Neko sighed, gently resting their head on the side of the counter, over the cat. “I’m exhausted. What even happened in the past… what, hour? Day?” A realization hit Neko, making them go cold. “Last night…”

Heli gasped. “The dearest Sun granted my wish! My adventure!”

“Damnit, Heli! This is your fault!”

“I always get what I want!” Heli said, throwing their arms in the air, then pointing an accusatory finger at Neko, “And you’re just jealous of my powers!”

The two glared at each other for a few long moments. Pira was about to say something before they broke out cackling.

“But really, we passed out in that parking lot, didn’t we? And ended up here…”

“Oh!” Heli and Neko looked at Pira, who continued, “I saw you two there! I was just leaving the building when I saw ya both collapse.”

Heli lifted their hand. “Why were you in the theatre that late?”

“... I passed out in the breakroom after hours.”

They stared blankly at them.

“What! Busy day! I’m one of the only people liftin’ all the heavy stuff!”

Neko got up, crossing their arms. “That isn’t the point. What brought us here, how, and  _ why _ ?”

“Three theories,” Heli said while counting off their fingers, “one, magical tree that we possibly got spit out of wants our souls, two, that bird you released punished us for our dumbassery, and three,” Heli cleared their throat, “the sun had heard my calls of pain in my miserable state-”

The sound of a TV broke off Heli’s speech. Pira sat in front of it with a remote, changing the channel until it reached the news.

“-talk with one of the locals in the ocean who have seen the tree during the strange event. Do you care to explain, Nautilus?”

A narwhal-like creature leaned over the docks from the water, using one of their fins to shield their eyes from the rain. “The clouds started swirling over the tree, so my friends and I watched it and it started glowing! And all of a sudden things, like, started popping out the top of it! We thought it could’ve been the return of the hero, but it just kept spitting out people.” The narwhal made some motions with their fins, “one of my friends even said they saw something big in the clouds. Like, a huge bird!”

“Very interesting. Please make sure to stay safe in the weather.”

The news suddenly switched to another area labeled “Central”. 

“Here we are in the central district, emergency services are crawling everywhere. The disaster seems to be getting worse as our responses to the wild animals are completely unexpected-”

“It’s hell out here, I’ll tell you that!” yelled a pink shape, who seemed to be… wrestling a deer? Another shape, who seemed to be bright cyan, charged at the creature in the background as the reporter kept talking about the current unpredicted weather.

“... Guess that answers some of my questions,” Heli said. “Except the deer.”

“This is a lot worse than I thought it was gonna be.”

“Look, this looks important!” Pira said.

“Here we have a nurse from Paradise Central Hospital. Can you tell us how the hospital is doing, Miss?”

The shape signed something, but it was too quick and too rainy for Neko to make it out.

“Oh, yes of course! I’ll translate it for you.”

“The hospital’s in chaos. Everyone’s being assigned to lower jobs and I’ve never seen the halls filled with so many people. We managed to lose three patients recovered from the incident, and all of our people who were trained for this type of situation are busier than hell or heavily injured from the sudden influx of animals in the area. The animal control and rescue team came to help, even Barracuda’s here!”

The shape gestured with both hands to their side, and the camera pointed to the pink shape from before running towards the camera. “Have you seen my partner? She’s a cyan flower, looks like a werewolf?”

The nurse signed to the shape that was called Barracuda, still too quick and unclear for Neko to read well.

“Thank you.” Barracuda ran off in the other direction. 

“Hey, reporter dude! The tree spat another person out and a big bird just grabbed them in midair!”

The camera turned to see what was going on, but it was immediately hit. The screen went black, and the audio muffled. All that was heard were screams and… squawking?

“What the hell?”

“Hah,” Pira lifted the controller and changed the input, the screen clicking to static. “That’s enough a’ that. Anyone wanna watch a movie or three?”

“Yep! I’m just gonna block out everything that just happened. What are we watching?” Heli said, running into the living room.

“Seems like he’s got a good DVD collection, anything look interesting to you?”

Neko was consumed in thought. This felt… irritably familiar. They couldn’t place their hand on what, but something about the island put them off, and it wasn’t just the disturbing news. That… bird? The tall shape? The hospital?

“Neko, wanna watch Worm Party?”

“Huh?”

“Have you not heard of-”

“Oh, yeah, I have. Sorry.”

“Can you believe Pira’s never watched it?”

“I can. It’s terrible.”

Heli threw their arms out, “That’s the  _ appeal! _ Some people just don’t know art these days.”

“How are you even focused on something else already?”

“I’m a master at taking my mind off of things. We’re watching Worm Party. Pira, give me your full name, I need it for a speech.”

“Pirate Drachen.”

Heli stared at them in total silence.

“You… you’re telling me you just shortened your nickname to Pira?”

Pirate shrugged. “Pirate code. Don't tell anyone but your closest enemies and your truest friends your real title. Or your boss.”

“Pirate code?! You have a code- wait did you basically just call me a good friend?”

“Pretty much.”

“Oh, you- well anyways! Pirate Drachen, get ready to watch one of the best movies of last year! An hour and a half of CGI and live-action and stunning 2D animation!”

“Oh, that part was actually pretty good.”

“Silence, Neko! We are watching a masterful work on our mutual hatred’s television!” Heli inserted the disc into the DVD player, sitting down on the couch, rambling something to Pirate in their stage voice. Neko rubbed their eyes, looking at the time on the stove. 2:11 PM.

Pirate was right.  _ They might as well make themself comfortable _ , they thought as they plopped down on the couch. 

Blixer better have a good idea of what was going on, or they were going to kick someone’s ass today.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I wrote this chapter in two goddamn days after realizing the old chapter 3 I was picking at wasn't working out (the plot was a lot different and tbh wasn't interesting) and. I'm still in shock. I'm not even hyperfixtating on JSAB but here we are  
> also xenogender neko bc its my fanfic and I get to go apeshit


	4. That's Not Blue

“Run, little dude, run!”

A bird darted across, flying away from its tiny predator. It squeaked, passing through in its cave as the furry animal chased behind it.

“You can see the light! You can do it!”

The predator, shown to be a cat, was catching up. Light shone up ahead as the avian went as fast as it can, squeezing through one last crack-

The cat hit its head against it, shoving its paw through and growling.

“Yes!!!!” Heli jumped off of their seat, throwing their arms up in the air. “You did it! You’re alive!”

The TV continued on, talking about the bird’s victory as Heli yelled. “Wouldn’t have expected us all to be getting involved over animal documentaries, of all things.”

Heli crossed their arms. “It’s _fun,_ Pirate. Seriously, we did this at parties.” They looked to their right, Neko still passed out on the couch. “Can’t believe they’re missing out.”

“Let ‘em sleep. It’s been a rough day.”

“Ugh, too long, too. How’s it not like, 10 PM?” Heli said, squinting at the stove clock reading _“7:32”._

Heli jumped at the cracking noise coming from the door. The door creaked open a little, letting in a bit of cold air.

“It’ll be okay. Just go in, they want to see you.”

Some more silence, Pira turning on their body to see the door better. Out peeked a head, small and square. 

Heli dropped the remote. “Holy shit.”

Neko either was completely resistant to waking up from loud noises or could wake up because they heard the icemaker downstairs. It was a fate that was decided by the roll of dice. Right now, they failed the check. A scream stirred them awake, groaning as they rolled on their back to rub at the spot on their face made sore from couch pillows. What the hell was happening on that documentary _now?_

“Heli…” they said, still keeping their eyes closed. No response. They reached behind their head, waving it around, expecting to hit someone. Defeated, they leaned up, slowly opening their eyes. The documentary had been paused, and no one was on the couch. 

“Neko, over here.”

They jerked their head to the left, catching Blixer in their eyes. “Oh, you’re home.”

“Uh, anything else you wanna note?”

“What do you m-”

They felt like everything froze as they saw them. 

“ _Cyan?!_ ”

Their face felt hot. They didn’t even notice the tears spilling down their face as the little shape was let out of Heli’s grasp. They stumbled closer to the couch, raising a tiny hand toward them. They shakily reached back, their arm just long enough as they slouched over the back of the couch to hold the hand in theirs.

This didn't feel real.

“You…” they sniffled, “you’re… alive?”

Heli wiped the tears from their face as Pirate knelt next to them and patted their back, both of them watching the two stare at each other.

Cyan raised their other hand.

“O-of course,” Neko said, letting go of their hand to pick them up and over the back of the couch. Cyan squirmed to get into their lap to hug them.

“Yeah, I missed you too…” Neko said, holding them tightly.

Pira nudged Heli. “Uh, what am I missing here?”

“T-that’s basically their kid.”

“Oh. Uh.” they cleared their throat, “that must be… ah…”

“Yeah.”

Blixer sighed as he closed the screen door. He looked down at Heli and Pirate. “Did any of you eat yet?”

“Nope.”

“I’ll go make dinner, then,” he said, walking into the kitchen.

Heli stood up, walking to the couch to hang their torso over the back, right next to Neko. “Hey.”

“Mm.”

Heli poked Cyan gently. “Sup, little dude?”

They turned their head and made a “come closer” gesture, Heli scooting closer and leaning further down. Cyan poked their cheek.

“Heh, nice.”

“What are you three watching?” Blixer said over the tings of pots and pans.

“Animal documentaries,” Heli said, turning their head slightly.

“...Seriously?”

“It’s good!”

Blixer looked at Pirate. “What’s your name?”

“Pira.”

“Pira, are they good?”

“Yeah, actually.”

Blixer pinched his “nose” as he got ingredients out of the fridge. “Oh, Tree… put it on if you wanna, I guess.”

Heli turned to Neko, poking their shoulder. They lifted their head up a little, and Heli pointed to the TV. They nodded. Heli grabbed the remote, unpausing the animal documentary.

Pira sat down on the couch on the opposite end of Neko. Heli sighed as they lifted themself up and cracked their back, then toppling over the back and laying face-down. Blixer shook his head as he turned on the stove.

A few minutes passed before Heli sat back up, crossing their arms. “So what the _flip_ happened today?”

“A lot of other patients were saying the same story as you all. Passed out somewhere, woke up in the street or in the hospital. All from the same area, too.”

“What about the, eh… tree?” Pirate said.

“We’re still all figuring that out. Hard as hell without our communicator,” he said, turning to look at Neko. “Uh, why are you looking at me like that?”

Neko was glaring at him. “There’s no way you can’t know more. What about the bird?” They looked at the tiny shape clinging to their sweater, “What about Cyan? How’d you even find them?”

“... I was hoping you didn’t know about the bird.” 

Neko’s glare intensified.

Blixer winced. “Fine, fine okay- so… I was called off early for work. The animal control team dragged me to the top of the building to catch a fucking bird-” he saw Neko making a death glare while holding Cyan, “-ahem, a _freaking_ bird, and I thought it was fff _flipping_ stupid until I saw the damn thing was nearly as big as I was. And-” he paused for a moment to take care of the cooking food, “-it flew at us and knocked me over. Next thing I knew I had a freakin’ kid in my arms.”

The room stared at Blixer. He turned around again, raising an eyebrow.

“What?”

The three exchanged glances. Heli scratched their head, making some negative “hmph” sound. “So you’re saying… Cyan got picked up by a giant bird.”

“Yes?”

“Is this… normal to you? Or?”

“After what happened today I just don’t think I should question it.”

Neko sat up more, groaning in frustration. “That’s it? This whole island’s felt like a lucid dream! There should be _something_ explaining why we’re even here! Or how Cyan’s even alive!”

He lowered his head looking at them as he turned off the stovetop. “... Sorry, Neko. I’ll think of something.”

Neko relaxed their shoulders, sinking back down to rest their head on the couch. They felt a tug on their sweater and looked down at Cyan.

 _“Ask him if his sibling knows anything,”_ they signed.

“He- he has a sibling?!”

“What?”

They looked up as they pointed at their child, “Cyan says you have a sibling?”

“What about it?”

Cyan wriggled out of Neko’s arms and clapped to get Blixer’s attention. _“Wouldn’t they know anything about this?”_

“I- uh, yeah, actually. Probably a lot.”

“Can we see them?”

Blixer stopped stirring whatever was in the pot to think. “It doesn’t… like seeing more than one person at a time. I can tell her you want to speak to her, Neko, but that’s it. Can’t have anyone else.”

“I… hm. I guess that’s better than nothing.”

“Whatever. You all can stay here in the meantime. Pasta’s ready.”

**Author's Note:**

> My JSAB tag on my art blog has a bunch of references and stuff if you need a visual ref! (Make sure to open the link in a browser) https://cyberpunk-cryptids.tumblr.com/tagged/just-shapes-and-beats


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